Mississippi native Faith Hill is urging lawmakers in her home state to change their flag, amid Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the nation.
Faith Hill, 52, is calling on legislators to change the outdated Mississippi state flag. The country music star took to Twitter on June 25 and called for a change to the current flag, which features the Confederate emblem. “To the Mississippi legislature: It’s time to change the state flag. I am a proud MS girl and I love my home state. When I think of Mississippi, I think of my mom and dad, the church I grew up in, high school football, and where I fell in love with music,” the country crooner began.
“Now, it is time for the world to meet the Mississippi of today and not the Mississippi of 1894 (when the MS legislature voted on the current flag). I understand many view the current flag as a symbol of heritage and Southern pride, but we have to realize that this flag is a direct symbol of terror for our black brothers and sisters,” she added, referencing the Black Lives Matter protests sweeping the nation.
To the Mississippi legislature: It’s time to change the state flag.
I am a proud MS girl and I love my home state. When I think of Mississippi, I think of my mom and dad, the church I grew up in, high school football, and where I fell in love with music.
— Faith Hill (@FaithHill) June 25, 2020
She concluded her message with a simple call to action: “I urge the Mississippi legislature to vote tomorrow Friday, June 26 on ONE NEW FLAG, one that represents ALL of the citizens of Mississippi. #takeitdownMS#msleg.” As a country star, a large portion of Faith’s fan base reside in the south, and naturally, her calls were met with criticism. However, some fans totally applauded her actions.
Faith Hill has spoken out on Twitter. Image: Invision/AP/Shutterstock
“Faith, you have always been and continue to be a class act,” one Twitter user wrote, while another said, “WONDERFUL of you to make this statement! I wish more country music stars would start to be brave and risk insulting their fan base by doing the right thing like you are today.”
The struggle that country stars like Faith face when speaking out was a major theme of Taylor Swift‘s documentary, Miss Americana. The film was heavily focused on the singer’s decision to publicly support Tennessee’s Democratic candidate for Senate during the 2018 midterm election, despite never being open about her political views in the past. In the doc, Taylor argues with her dad, Scott Swift, before going public with her opinion. “This is something I know is right and I need to be on the right side of history,” Taylor says. “I just want you to read what I wrote and know this is important to me.”
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
